Meanings
macadam1
plural macadams · alternative McAdam
- uncountableThe surface of a road consisting of layers of crushed stone (usually tar-coated for modern traffic).
This narrow-gauge line had suffered the same fate as that between Schull and Skibbereen, with the track taken up except where it runs through one of the town streets and is embedded in the macadam.
1955 May, Rev. A. W. V. Mace, “An Irish Journey—1”, in Railway Magazine, page 304 - UScountabledatedAny road or street.
present singular third person macadams · participle present macadaming · participle present macadamming · participle past macadamed · past macadamed · participle past macadammed · past macadammed · alternative McAdam
Macadam2
- alternativeAlternative spelling of MacAdam.
MacAdam3
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo cover or surface with macadam.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna paved surface having compressed layers of broken rocks held together with tar
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
macadam · noun, verb
Named after Scottish engineer John Loudon McAdam (1756–1836), who invented the process of macadamization. Used for describing road surfaces originally constructed using the McAdam method, but now sometimes used for any road or street.
Full word history & related roots →MacAdam · proper noun
- Proto-Celtic*makkʷos
- Old Irishmacc
- Middle Irishmac
- Scottish Gaelicmac
- Proto-Semitic*ʔadam-
- Hebrewאָדָם
- Ancient GreekἈδάμ (Adám)
- LatinĀdām
- Old IrishÁdam
- Scottish GaelicÀdhamh
- Scottish GaelicMac Àdhaimh
- EnglishMacAdam
Derived from Scottish Gaelic Mac Àdhaimh (“Adam's son”).
More words from Scottish Gaelic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian макадам
- макадам (makadam)surface of a road
Czech makadam
- makadamsurface of a road
Esperanto makadamo
- makadamosurface of a road
Finnish sepeli, murske
- sepelisurface of a road
- murskesurface of a road
German Makadam
- Makadamsurface of a road
Hungarian makadám
- makadámsurface of a road
Polish makadam
- makadamsurface of a road
Portuguese macadame
- macadamesurface of a road
Russian ще́бень
- ще́бень (ščébenʹ)surface of a road
Scottish Gaelic bìth, teàrr
- bìthsurface of a road
- teàrrsurface of a road
Ukrainian макадам
- макадам (makadam)surface of a road
Cite this entry
macadam. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/macadam
“macadam.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/macadam. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “macadam,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/macadam.
Source: macadam on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.